Cherry Barb with excess slime- treatment options?

La Reina

Hello! I just got some cherry barbs for my 6 gallon Fluval Edge tank and I noticed today that one fish is not swimming actively, but is maintaining itself in the middle of the tank, and on one side there is a area of transleuscent slime. (My tank has been up and running for a year, and these fish were introduced on Wednesday of last week.)

Is there anything I can do for this fish? I have Super Ick Cure and table and coarse (the kind you put on pretzels) salt on hand.

BarbH

Have you checked to see what your water parameters are? With adding the new fish it is possible you could have set off a mini-cycle. I would rule out water quality issues first. Do not use the salt. If you use any type of salt in the aquarium it should only be aquarium salt. I would also hold off using the ick guard, if you are not seeing signs of ick in the tank then I would not treat for it. There are a lot of medications that can upset the good bacteria in the aquarium. I have seen people recommend using melafix, which from my understanding is natural and does not affect the biological filtration or other levels in the tank. Hope this helps.

La Reina

Thanks BarbH. The affected fish passed away last night, and no other fish are showing symptoms.

BarbH

Sorry to hear that I would continue to keep an eye on the other fish just in case. Sometimes some fish are unable to handle the stress of being brought into a new environment.